BTS ARMY Was So Loud At The K-pop Boyband’s Singapore Concert Even Our Enciks Would be Proud

It finally happened. After months of breathless anticipation (we assume lah), fans of K-pop boyband BTS were finally able to catch their idols live at the National Stadium at the sold-out concert last Saturday (Jan 19), as part of their Love Yourself world tour.

Throngs of BTS fans, who are also known collectively as ARMY, which is short for Adorable Representative MC for Youth, booked in at venue extra early — some even a day before — to secure good spots near the front of the stage. And as we would soon find out, all that waiting did not seem to tire them out one bit. Ah, youth.

The grounds at the Singapore Sports Hub resembled that of a music festival. The mood was electric and there were long queues everywhere. Like the line for the concert merchandise which could put any of the Hello Kitty queues at McDonald’s to shame. Close by, thousands more stood in another snaking line, hoping to get access to BTS Studio, where they could have the opportunity to ‘interact’ with the BTS members. Or rather, VR versions of them, kinda like Pokemon Go. Only as the sun began to set did the fans start to filter into the stadium.

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Purple light in the valley

Inside, the stage set-up was already indicative of how epic the show was going to be. There were a total of three stages that allowed for the boys to get closer to the audience. The main stage was flanked by massive screens that projected sleek videos and animation throughout the concert. There were also water cannons that would give the show that added splash of drama.

The 45,000-strong crowd may not have been the largest one that the National Stadium has seen — that honour belongs to Coldplay which had 52,000 fans singing to ‘Yellow’ at their concert here in 2017. But it was, without a doubt, the loudest. Hours before the concert even started, the ARMY were already screaming their lungs out, and shouting out cheers like it was a school sports meet on steroids. Each fan also had in their hand an official concert light stick that was programmed to not just sync with the performances, but to also transform the stadium into a sea of lights.

The decibel level only continued to rise — was there a spike in Nin Jiom Pei Pa Koa sales the next day, we wondered — as we got closer to show time, peaking when the familiar opening strains of mega-hit ‘Idol’ permeated through the speakers. Seven silhouettes appeared on stage amidst the pyrotechnics, 45,000 phones instantly went up, and our eardrums blew out.

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All suited up

The septet, consisting of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook, showed fans exactly why they are now the biggest boyband in the world, segueing from one energetic dance number to another like it was no big deal, executing every dance move perfectly in sync.

There’s no denying the boys knew exactly what their fans wanted. They hammed it up for the cameras with their cutesy poses (think Korean heart symbols and boyish winks) and playfully injected cheeky banter onstage — and the ARMY lapped up every moment.

Fan favourites like ‘DNA’, ‘Tear’, ‘I Need U’ and ‘Mic Drop’ drew the largest reactions. The BTS members all had a solo performances too, and each took time to make sincere, heartfelt speeches to express their gratitude for the support from the ARMY. “In Korea it's really cold, so when we heard that we were going to Singapore, where it's 30-degrees Celsius, we were worried that we might get tired, we'll be exhausted, but you know what, your energy, your noise, your voices are way better than Seoul,” gushed RM.

Even after the two and a half hour concert, members of the ARMY continued to linger on the premises. Hundreds more waited patiently in line for the hopes of securing whatever merchandise was still available.

“Please don’t queue anymore, everything is sold out,” we overheard the staff telling the fans.